Latch



' May 27, 1924, 1,495,373

W. S. WITTEN LATCH 'Filed March 3, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 .ul l

w. s. WITTEN May 27 LATCH Filed March 5, 1922 3 Sh'ets--Sheet 5 @Lasimatented lit/'lay 27, 1924.

WILLIAM S. WITTEN, OF CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS.

LATCH.

Application mea March 3,1922. serial No. 540,688. f.

To' all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. IVITTEN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Chicago, in the ycounty of Cook and State j ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Latches,of which the following is a specification, reference bein had to theaccompanying drawings.

ffy invention relates primarily to latches or locks of the type in whichthe latching or locking bolt moves to its operative posivtion bygravity, as distinguished from those in which it is moved to suchposition by a spring, although certain features thereof may beincorporated in spring actuated latches. It has for its object toprovide an improved latch together with a keeper y therefor, in whichthe bolt will operatively and securely engage the keeper upon theclosing of the door` or gate to which the latch is attached even if forany reason, such as the incomplete closing of the door, or inaccuratemounting of the latch or keeper, the bolt engages the keeper only to alimited extent. I accomplish this object as illustrated in the drawingsand hereinafter described. What I regard as new is set forth lin theclaims.

In the accompanying drawings,-

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my improved latch with one of the sideplates of the case removed, showing also the keeper in section;

Fig. 2 is a view of part of the side of a barn or other outhouse showingmy improved latch and keeper applied to the door thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail, being a partial vertical section on line8-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. et is an enlarged detail, being a partial vertical section on linet-f-f of Fig. 1 showing the locking device for locking the latch inoperative position;

Fig. 5 is a view showing a modified. construction designed for use inconnection Ll5 with a swinging door. said view being a section on line 55 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a view showing my improved latch applied to a verticallysliding door;

Fig. 8 is another modification showing my improved latch and keeperadapted for use on a freight car door;

Fig. 9 is a side view of part of a freight car showing the manner inwhich the latch shown in Fig. 8 may be applied thereto;

Fig. 10 is a section on line 10'-10 of Fig. 8; and y Fig. 11 is adetail, being a cross-section on line 11'-11 of Fig. 8.

Referring first to the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 1, inclusive,-12indicates the latch as a whole, said latch 4comprising a. stem or shank13 mounted at its upper end on a pivot 14; and having at its lower end65 a curved latch bolt 15 projecting at one side of the stem 18, andacounterbalancing arm 16 which projects at the opposite side of the stem,thus giving the latch as a whole somewhat the appearance of an invertedT. At the upper end of the stem 18 is an oper ating arm or handle 17rigidly connected with the stem 13 and` extending at an angle with saidstem over the arm 16. The balance of the latch is such as to tend toswing the latch in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1 so thatthe` latch bolt 15 is pro jected and normally assumes that position.4The latch is mounted in a suitable case comprising a side plate 18having a flange 19 SG along its lower margin forming the bottom of thecase.; a flange 2O at its outer edge between the pivotal portion of thelatch and the latch bolt 15 forming a stop which limits the extent towhich the latch vbolt 35 may project; and a flange 21 at 'the oppositeside of the case which serves as a spacing block and also to limit theinward movement of the latch. A cover plate 22 fits upon theflanges 19,v2() and 21 and forms 90 a closure Vfor that side of the case, saidcover plate being preferably fitted on dowel pins 28 provided atsuitable points to position the cover plate.v 24 indicates screws lforsecuring the case to the door or other structure to which it is applied.25 indicates an arcuate slot in the side plate 18 ad jacent to the stein18 thri'iugh which prol jects a pin 2G connected with the stem. as shownin Fig. 8. The door 27 o1' other part 100 to which the latch is appliedis provided with an arcuate slot 28 similar to and reg istering with theslot 25, and the pin 26 extends through the slot 28 so that when thelatch is applied to the door it may be moved out of operative positionby means of the pin 26. notwithstanding the fact that the arm 17 is atthe opposite side of the door.

As will be readily understood from an inspection of Fig. 1, the latchnormally occupies the position shown in full lines in said Vorsubstantially so. vtherefore that so long as .any part ofthe va pivotfitted between `the side 1members of the case at a point .adjacent tothe inner end of the .counterbalancing arm 16, said dog being soarranged that it may be swung into or out of position back .of said arm,

either by ,a key arranged to engage .one .of

the yends of the pivot 3 0, which are .made non-,circular in contourv.for that purpose as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, or by means of va fingerpiece 3.1 carriedY by the dog 29 and ,projecting out beyond the membersof the case as shown. tin Fig. 1. rlhe dog 29 Ais also provided withlaterallyextending lugs q32 lwhich are arranged .to overlap the sidemembers of the case to limit `the .extent .to which `the dog may beswung down i behind the counterbalancing arm 15. By this construction,whenthe dog- 29 is in the position Vshown in Fig. 1 it lies in the pathof the counter-balancing arm 16 and prevents the `latch from being swungout of operative position, but by swinging said .dog` ina clockwisedirection as viewed in Fig. 1 it may be moved out .of the .way :topermit 4 the latch `to be moved toits inoperative positioii. lf fthen it.be desired `tosecure the latch in the latter position ithe dog may beswung back yto its operative position when it .will .under- .lie theinner end of the counterbalancing anni 16, as shown by dotted lines inFig. 1, .and thereby will operate to prevent the latch .from swingingback into .locking position.

.ln the construction shown in Fig. 1, the .keeper comprises a blockvwhich is preferably substantially Semicylindrical rsince it is providedwith two convenoppositelydisposed curved surfaces 34, extending to aplane surface 36, the latterbeingthe outer surface of the keeper .whenit is -mounted in position. It will be understood, however, .that thetwo curved surfacesB/l, 35 are provided tomakethe keeper reversible.andftbat only one of such surfaces vor its equivalent is essential.These curved surfaces of lthe -keeper preferably .conform in curvatureto theconcaveor operative surface of the latch .bolt 15, which in Athearrangement shown in ll? 1 lis its upper edee, andthe keeper is so.disposed with Erefe ence 4to the bolt and the .pivot ,of Vthe latchthat the bolt will always operatively bear against the keeper along alineradial `tothe .pivot ofthe latch, lt will be apparent latch boltengages any partofthe keeper th.; door 'will be securely .latclied,because if n.. be attempted to open the door, the line of direction ofthe force applied through the lbolt to the keeper will approximatelyintersect the pivot 14 and consequently the bolt will not tend to swingout of operati ve position. This feature is of great importance becauseit frequently happens that the door is closed carelessly so that acomplete closure is not effected, or sometimes through an ac-.cumulation of snow, dirt, the., the door can- Ithe latch, but on thecontrary will tend to cause the latch bolt to project further.' since,gravity has a constant tendency to project it to the limit of itsmovement in that direction. The keeper is preferably fitted loe- Itweensuitable side plates 37 and `is .wholly or partially enclosed by aflange `38, as shown in 1. It may either be secu d to the jainb 39 of adoor as shown .in f2. or Ait may be fitted in a recess .in Ithe dooriainb as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

In Figa@ I have illustrated my yimproved latch asinounted on a slidingbarn doorQ', vin .whichcase it is secured to :the front niar- 4,ginalportion of the .door at Aany 4suitable height.

The construction shown ,in Figs. l1 to 4lis adapted for use inconnectionwith auvordi- .nary horizontally slidingdoor, and it may also be used inconnection with a vertically sliding door as shown in Fig. 7, in whichcase the latch is preferably secured .adjacent to the upper plate 4.0 ofthe ,doonopening and the keeper, indicated as a whole vby rel erencenumeral 11, is secured to the lower portion of the door 4.2. In this arangeinent the .latch is turned to a position .at right angles to thatshown in Fig. 1 so .that the latch bolt 15 projects downward.Consequently. when the door is raised the `keeper will be engaged by thelatch bolt, Vwhich lwill operate to hold the door in its elevatedposition.

.ln Figs. 5 and G l :have shown my i1nproved. construction applied Vto ahorizontally-swinging door 43 Ahinged at all. ,ln this arrangement thekeeper is set into a :recess 45 formed inthe door iamb 46 so that itsplane face 36 is parallel with the inner snr- Iface of the door -whenthe latter is closed. The latch is secured to .the outer edge of thedoor in such position that whenthe door is closed the latch bolt 15ywill beadapted to engage the keeper, as shown ,in Figs. 5 and 6. Theconstruction. shown in. these lll() ures is substantially the same asthat shown in Figs. 1 to 4, except that preferably instead of theoperating arm 17 arranged as shown in Fig. 1 I provide an operating arm47 which is connected with lthe lower portion of the latch and extendsoutward at an angle thereto so that it may conveniently be operated whenthe door is closed. This handle may, if desired, be pr'ovided with anenlarged head 48 to increase its counterbalancing action.

In Figs. 8 to 11, inclusive, I have shown my improvements applied toalatch adapted for freight car doors., In the lattergures 49 indicates afreight car and 50 the usual sliding door thereof adapted to slidelongitudinally of the car and also to be swung outwardly away from theside of the car, its lower margin being free to swing in that directionwhen unlocked. The general construction of the latch shown in thesefigures forms the subject-matter of a separate application tiled by meof even date herewith, and the purpose of these illust-rations thereforeis merely to show the mannerin which my improved latch bolt and keepermay be incorporated in a latch for use in freight car doors. In theconstruction shown in these figures the stem portion 51 of the latch iscurved, but the latch bolt 52 is the same as that shown in the precedingfigures except that it is rounded at the sides, as shown in Fig. 11, tocooperate with an inclined guide plate 53 provided' at one side of thekeeper 54 so that when the door is swung inwardly or toward the side ofthe car the latch bolt 52 will ride up on said guide plate and dropbehind the keeper block 55, as best shown in Figs. 8 and 10, therebyassuming its operative relation thereto. When the door is slid to itsclosed position without being swung outwardly the curved outer surfaceof the locking bolt 52.will ride up on the outer surface of the keeperblock 55 until it passes back of said block, whereupon the locking boltwill drop into its operative position.

As clearly shown in Fig. 8, in this arrangement the locking bolt 52extends downward, the latch being mounted upon a pivot 56 in the lowerportion of the case 57. The latch is released by means of an operatingarm 58 connected with the pivotal portion of the stem 51, and may belocked in operative position or be held out of operative position bymeans of a locking arm 59 provided for that purpose, as more fullyexplained in the copending application hereinbefore referred to. It isnot believed to be necessary to describe the construction shown in thesefigures more in detail at this time inasmuch as they do not relate tothe subject-matter of this application.

In the construction shown in all the figures as the door moves to itsclosed position the outer end portion of the latch bolt strikes theplane face 36 of the keeper and consequently the latch swings back outof operative position, but as soon as the backward swinging of the latchbrings it into position to pass the outer edge of the said face thelatch bolt swings back again into engagement with the. operating face ofthe keeper and the latch becomes eective to hold the door closedregardless of the extent to which the operative surfaces overlap, asabove pointed out. So far as I am aware I am the first in the art toprovide a latch and keeper cooperating in this manner, and my invention,therefore, includes such construction generically. Furthermore, myinvention is not limited to a latch bolt and keeper of the specificshape illustrated as such shape may be modified considerably withoutdeparting from my invention. It will be understood alsov that while thelatch is usually applied to the door and the keeper to the door jamb orother suitable support, the arrangement may be reversed.

Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a pivotally mounted latch comprising a shank anda hook-shaped bolt projecting laterally therefrom, of a keeper arrangedto be contacted by the outer end portion of the bolt to turn the latchand thereafter be operativelyengaged by said -bolt along a linesubstantially radial to the pivot of the latch.

2. The combination with a pivotally mounted latch comprising a shank anda hook-shaped bolt projecting laterally therefrom, of a keeper arrangedto be contacted by the outer end portion of the bolt to turn the latchand thereafter be operatively en- A gaged by said bolt along a linesubstantially radial to the pivot of the latch, said bolt being normallyheld in operative position by gravity.

3. The combination with a hook-shaped pivotally mounted latch comprisinga shank and a latch bolt extending at an acute angle from the shank at apoint remote from the pivot thereof, of a keeper adapted to becontacted` by the outer end portion of the bolt to turn the latch andthereafter be operatively engaged by the inner marginal portion of saidlatch bolt.

L1. The combination with a hook-shaped latch comprising a pivotallymounted shank and a latch bolt extending at an acute angle from theshank at a point remote from the pivot thereof, said latch bolt beingnormally held in operative position by gravity, of a keeper adapted tobe contacted by the outer end portion of the bolt to turn the latch andthereafter be operatively engaged ly the inner marginal 'portion of saidlatch olt.

5. The combination with a pivotally lll) mounted latch comprising` ashankand a laterallyproj,ecting bolt provided with a concave engagingSurface, of a keeper comprising a member having a convex `surfaceadapted to be engaged by the concave surface of the bolt ivhenthe latteris projected, said keeper being adapted to be contacted bytheout-er endportionof the bolt to turn the latch into position to enable it to makesuch operative engagement with the keeper.

`6. rlhe combination with a pivotally ymounted. latch comprising a shankvand a laterally-projecting bolt provided with a lconcave engaging'surface, of a keeper comprising a member having` a convex surfacevadapted to ,be engaged by the concave surface of the bolt When thelatter is j nojeeted, said bolt being normally projected by gravity, andsaid keeper being` .adapted to be contacted by the outer end portion otthe bolt-to turn the latchiinto position tojenable it to make suchoperative engagement `With the keeper.

7. The combination with a sliding door, and a latch comprising apimta-lly mounted Shank having` a hook-shaped bolt projecting laterallytherefrom, of a keeper arranged to be contacted by the outer end portionot the bolt to turn the latch and thereatter be operativelyT engaged byysaid bolt rvalong a line substantially radial to the pivot of thelatch.

8. The combination With a sliding door,

'thereafter be operatively engaged by Said lbolt along a linesubstantially radial to the L pivot of the latch, said bolt beingnormally projected by gravity.

9. The combination With a door arranged to slide endvvise and also toswing laterally,

and a latch comprising a pivotally mounta ed shank having a hook-shapedbolt, of a Vkeeper operating to move Said bolt out oit operativeposition when the `door is being mov-ed inward or endwise to its closedposition, and to permit the bolt to move into en gagement With thekeeper When the door is closed, said keeper being arranged to beoperatively engaged by said bolt along a line substantially radial tothe pivot ot the latch.

10. The ,combination with a pivotally .mounted latch comprising a shankand a hook-shaped bolt projecting laterally therefrom, of a keeperyarranged to be contacted bythe outer end portion of the bolt to turnthe ,latch and thereafter be operatively engaged by said bolt along aline substantially .radial to the pivot of the latch, and means `r1Corlocking Said bolt in its operative posh tion.v

WILLI AM S. WETTEN.

